Cosmetic bars have been used over the years to deliver many benefits to the skin. Cosmetic bars containing ingredients such as cocoa butter have been used to moisturize or protect the skin. More conventionally, bars containing soap and moisturizers have been used to cleanse and condition the skin. The bars have several problems associated with them. In particular, they are very slippery when wet. Cleansing bars tend to slip out of the consumer's hand during use in the shower or bath. The consumer then has to bend over or kneel down to pick up the cleansing bar from the floor of the shower.
Additionally, it is somewhat awkward to apply soap with a washcloth or sponge since it involves the use of two separable articles, one being extremely slippery when wet and tending to slide from the user's hands quite easily. Wrapping the washcloth around the soap may be a temporary solution but it is not completely satisfactory. Similarly, making a pouch in the sponge to contain the bar of soap leaves the sponge permanently saturated with the soap and slimy after its initial use. Sewing a bar of soap between two plies of washcloth likewise produces an article that is permanently slimy after use.
Others have tried to extend the life of a cosmetic or cleansing bar that is typically fragile when reduced to a sliver. The sliver will often break or become hand to handle. Solutions to these problems may include the incorporation of hair, sponges, fibers, etc. Examples of such disclosures are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 681,324; 389,296; 488,393; and 5,221,506.
Skin cleansing compositions having abrasive particles incorporated as scrubbing aids are known in the art. For example, LOOFAH Exfoliating Soap is a commercially available soap bar from Earth Therapeutics. The soap bar has small particles of a chopped up loofah or puff dispersed throughout.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,603 describes a cleansing bar comprising (a) a cleansing composition; and (b) a plurality of discrete elements having a length to diameter ratio of from about 50 to 1 to about 1,000,000 to 1. The discrete elements may be fibers, filaments, particles, and mixtures thereof. In addition, the discrete elements may comprise monocomponent or multicomponent elements, including core-sheath structures. Such a device is useful for exfoliating the skin while cleansing. However, during its use, discrete elements, such as fibers exposed to the user's skin, trap hair and other debris, resulting in an unpleasant or unsanitary appearance. Subsequent washes exacerbate the problem.
Accordingly, a need still exists for a cosmetic device that provides exfoliation in a more sanitary and efficient manner. An improvement of the cleansing bar described in the '603 patent is disclosed herein, namely the use of discrete elements comprising a water soluble core surrounded by an erodible shell. A cosmetic device, whether for cleansing or otherwise, comprising such discrete elements provides a mechanism for removal of discrete elements from the cosmetic device. As discrete elements are exposed at the surface of the device, their erodible shells are abraded or dissolved with use. The water soluble cores are in turn exposed and fall away from the device.